A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) Barrister Kenneth Okonkwo, has insisted that Labour’s demand of a higher minimum wage is not too much for be the Federal Government to pay.
Speaking to Vanguard after receiving an award at the 2024 5th edition of the African Illustrious Son Award in Lagos, he wondered why the government would say NLC’s demands were unaffordable.
Okonkwo reminded the government that the National Labour Congress (NLC) did not draft out the policies that put Nigeria in such a terrible state as this.
” The NLC did not bring about the policy causing this hardship in Nigeria. NLC and its workers should not be made to pay the price.
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He expressed displeasure how an individual will assume seat of power and turn to a billionaire overnight while NLC workers who have been toiling and working for years have nothing to their name.
“How can one become an elected government official and instantly become a billionaire, while NLC members have been working for years?
He continued, “Now they want to start vandalizing the pension fund. These people have borrowed and squandered all the money, and now they want to vandalize the pension fund to buy private jets.
“No, the NLC demand is very reasonable and objective. If the government claims it is unaffordable, they should provide something reasonable enough for them.
” You spend $20 billion on the house of your chief of staff, give billions to your wife, and then tell people you can’t pay them ₦62,000 or will pay them ₦62,000 as minimum wage when you use more than ₦50,000 to fuel your car. This government is incomprehensible”, he lamented.
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